Riots post election ;[

There are several riots going on around these US of A for the second night after the elections. Sounds like a lot of property damage with several people hurt [at least 2 in ICU]

I realize that half of the country is happy how the elections turned out and the other half is pissed. Either way it is getting needlessly dangerous out there.

I have heard some talk of how the ‘protesters’ are paid to be out there stirring up crap. Is this actually the case? I do not actually know. Some observations though. Most of the “spontaneous protests’ seem too well organized and co-coordinated in my opinion. Regardless of if they are spontaneous or not it is NOT safe for you to be around them.

So what do you do if you find yourself in the middle of this crap? OR better yet how do you prevent yourself from being in the middle of it?

Pay attention to your surroundings, avoid large groups of people, plan out alternate routes of travel AND have plans to be able to camp out at your place of work or with friends until the crowds / trouble disburses.

1. Pay attention to your surroundings – know what is ‘normal’ for where you are, be familiar with the area for the time of day you normally are in the spot. Are the people near you behaving as they normally do or are they agitated? Does anyone appear odd or out of place / does not fit in? If so, report it to the ‘normal’ people there [your co-workers, friends, the boss or security if any. Once you have alerted others either take control of the situation or leave.
2. While you are out and about avoid large groups of people especially if any of them seem agitated or angry.
3. Plan out alternative routes of travel AND escape routes. Always know at least 2 ways to exit any area you find yourself in. look for the normal things like front, back and side doors. Consider also windows as points of egress. Discuss this with others in your party so that everyone will be on the same sheet of music should something not good happen, also discuss and agree on a meeting place should any of you get separated.
4. Have a communication plan before hand with those in your party AND people at home. Most of us have cell phones which seem to grow out of our heads now. Consider use of either CB radios, the FRS type radios or the Beofeng radios that I have reviewed elsewhere in the blog.
5. Have plans to be able to camp out at your place of work or with friends until the crowds / trouble disperses. It is sometimes advisable to just stay somewhere until the storm blows over. Right now we are discussing riots and “peaceful protests” but this also applies to snow storms and other such. If you work in an office type setting consider storing an extra set of clothing, toiletries, a days [or 3] of rations and maybe some bedding in or under your desk – I have been snowed in at work before and it sure is better if you have planned ahead.
6. Listen to the news and or local radio station while at work to be able to know what is going on around town. An off shoot of this is to have a friend or family member who is at home pay attention to the local news and alert you to things. People can take turns on this if you have a group and if need be and the group is large enough there could be 24 hour coverage.
7. Lastly, if there is trouble and you do not HAVE to be out and about, do not be stupid and STAY home..

cross ref

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/election-2016-fu/

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/comms-part-1/
http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/convalescent-care/

and some books that explore the topics in more depth

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/ready-or-not-things-will-happen/ This is book 1 the quick start guide to preparedness.

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/ready-or-not-fun-things-will-happen/ This is book 2 about traveling and evacuation planning.